Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1887-01-27
MEXICO'S HOLIDAY.
A FAST AND JOYOUS CARNIVAL
WITHOUT MASKS.

VII HOUI MASNS.
Halloween Observed with a Universally
Not Met with in other Countries.
Every Conceivable Variety of Holiday
Wares-Curious Mementoes.
The night Of Oct 81, known in the
states as Halloween, or Holly Eve, is OBJ
served here with universally that is not to
be met with in our own country and in
very different fashion. 1t fell this year on
Sunday, and about p. m. on that day
found myself mingled with crowd of peo-
pie who were pouring along the Gale de San
Francisco into the Plaza Mayor, within
whose elegant zocolo fine military band was
sending forth strains of delicious music.
Both the Plaza Mayor and the Plaza de La
Constitution presented a most brilliant
sight. They had been converted into tenn
porary fair ground crowded with innumer-
able booths, within which were displayed, by
the light of hundreds Of tallow candles,
around which shades Of white paper had been
placed to increase their power, every con-
ceivable variety Of holiday wares. Nuts,
raisins, oranges, figs tortillas, bananas, can
dies, pulque, cakes, toys, hot sausages and
notions were visible in endless profusion.
There are occasions when appetite, which is
common to both clowns and gentlemen, is
strangely tempted by such ministry and dis
play of eatables, and doubtless did not the
"mode" and point of honor-sadly misplaced
by both sexes-whisper forbearance more
than one lechugino (anglice dude and delicate
senorita would be seen devouring, with a
hearty relish, morsels intended for the more
homely mouths of poems Troops of young
brats, trusting to their legs and lungs to pro-
cure them customers go winding through the
crowd, offering circles of flour paste fried in
oil, which are held upon long lath, held by
the middle to prevent them from breaking.
1t is surprising to see how rapidly the laths
are eased Of their burden and the brittle fry
consumed The kitchen is not far of, and
two cooks in their shirt sleeves are busily
engaged in producing fresh supplies. One of
these keeps a large iron pan over stand of
charcoal, where it fries and misses most in
vitingly, while the other, seated before YES
sci filed with water and pan containing the
-four paste, forms the cake in moment and
draws it out into hollow ring. Thence he
filings it into the bubbling oil, where it browns
and swells into crisp mouthful.
CURIOUS NEMENToEs.
But in all this heterogeneous collection of
wares what strikes foreigner as strangest
of all are the numerous quaint articles de-
signed to be purchased as souvenirs of the
occasion. Students of old English customs
have heard of soul cakes, a sort of bun which
good-natured people used to prepare in large
numbers to give to children who went about
from house to house on Halloween singing a
song and demanding the "soul cake" as re-
ward, but the booths in the Plaza Mayor on
Sunday night displayed soul cakes which, for
appropriateness and elaborate design, far
surpassed the Halloween buns of Old Eng
land. They consisted of three layers of cake
so placed as to form three steps, covered with
white icing, and leading up to chocolate
cross at the extremity of the topmost layer
or step.
Upon each of the other layers there was
some design in chocolate intended to remind
the purchaser of the solemn occasion the cake
was meant to commemorate, such as skulls,
bones and coffins. Catafalcoes made of wood
and painted black, from six inches to two
and half feet in height and from three
inches to two feet square, were also highly
popular article Of merchandise. Some of
them consisted of several platforms rising
one above the other, elaborately draped with
black cloth and emblazoned in gilt with
crosses, skulls, bones and collins. There
were skeletons of every imaginable size and
material upon the counter of every booth,
some of them poor, cheap affairs of paper,
many of candy and others elaborately con-
st1ucted Of wood and jeinted so that the pull
ing of a string would cause them to dance
and caper in a weirdly comical way. Some
of them were fantastically dressed like ballet
dancers and were surrounded by groups of
candy skulls.
EVERYBODY BUYS THEM.
All classes seem to have turned out en-
masse to purchase these mementoes of the
time Men and women of the highest wealth
and culture, accompanied by groups of beau
tifully dressed, merry children, whose hands
are full of soul cakes, skeletons, catafalcoes
and candy skulls, elbow and are elbowed by
the poor poems, who are spending the few
coppers that they have laid by so carefully
for the occasion.
1t is period of universal merriment and
rejoicing-a fast and joyous carnival with
out masks. TIE shouts and vociferations of
the light hearted crowd, and their boundings
and gambols in the shadow of the grand old
cathedral, which for over 200 years has stood
at the head of the plaza, were such as might
at first have led one to think that the in
mates of that philanthropic establishment,
the Casa de Locos Qunatic asylum had
forced bolts and bars, and exchanged their
straight waistcoats for others of a more
elastic and becoming model, while above all
there arose from the zocolo strains of such
music as we seldom or never hear in the
states, for the playing of Mexican govern
ment military band is a revelation Of the
possibilities OF such an organization.-Phila-
delphia Times